Climate variation and prediction of rapid intensification in tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific

One of the greatest challenges in tropical weather forecasting is the rapid intensification (RI) of the tropical cyclone (TC), during which its one-minute maximum sustained wind speed increases at least 30 knots per 24 hours. Here we identify and elucidate the climatic conditions that are critical to the frequency and location of the RI on annual, intraseasonal, and interannual time scales. Whereas RI and formation share common environmental preferences, we found that the percentage of TCs with RI varies annually and from year to year. In August, only 30% of TC actually experiences RI, in contrast to the annual maximum of 47% in November. The proportion of RI in July–September is higher during El Niño years (53%) than the corresponding one in the La Niña years (37%). Three climate factors may contribute to the increase in the proportion of RI: the southward shift in the monthly or seasonal mean location of the TC formation, the increase in the low-level westerly meridional shear vorticity, and the decrease in northerly vertical shear. When the mean latitude of TC formation increases, the mixed-layer heat content decreases while TC’s inertial stability increases; both are more detrimental to the RI than to TC formation because the RI requires large amount of latent heat energy being extracted efficiently from the ocean mixed layer and requires accelerated low-level radial inflow that carries latent heat reaching the inner core region.